In this report, Opemiposi Samuel captures the ongoing controversy surrounding the serial removal of the Chairman of Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Justice Danladi Umar from office and concomitant efforts to appoint a replacement, highlighting the systemic lapses in adhering to constitutional procedures for appointing and removing judicial officers in Nigeria. The report underscores the need for strict compliance with the rule of law to maintain the independence and integrity of the judiciary.
Introduction
There appears to be no end in sight in the confusion trailing the purported serial removal of the Chairman of Code of Conduct Tribunal, Justice Danladi Umar, from office and the efforts by President Bola Tinubu’s administration to appoint a replacement.
This is because President Bola Tinubu has, less than two weeks ago, approved the appointment of Dr. Mainasara Umar Kogo as the new helmsman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), bypassing both the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) and the National Judicial Council (NJC), being the mandatory procedure required for the appointment.
Kogo’s appointment by Tinubu was communicated in a letter dated January 20, 2025, signed by Senator George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) at a time the substantive tribunal chairman, Justice Danladi was yet to be properly removed from office.
Already, two non-governmental organisations—Community Rescue Initiative and Toro Concerned Citizens and Relief Foundation together with a legal practitioner, Barrister Nasiru have approached a Federal high court sitting in Abuja to declare both the removal of Justice Umar and the appointment of Dr Kogo as illegal and unconstitutional.
Justice Danladi Umar
BAR & BENCH WATCH reports that Justice Danladi Umar, a Fulani by tribe, was born on August 19, 1971 in Toro Local Government Area of Bauchi State, in Northeastern Nigeria and was appointed at age 36 to the CCT as Acting Chairman.
Prior to becoming the acting chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) of Nigeria, he was a lawyer and a Chief Magistrate in Bauchi State, Nigeria.
He became the substantive chairman of the CCT four months later on July 11, 2011, replacing his predecessor, Justice Murtala Adebayo Sanni who died on January 24, 2011.
That was after the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) and the National Judicial Council (NJC) screened and recommended him respectively to the president (President Goodluck Jonathan) for the appointment.
He was sworn in by the then Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), late Justice Aloysius A. I. Katsina-Alu at the Supreme Court alongside two other new tribunal members, retired Justice Robert Isaac Ewa Odu and Barrister Atedze William Agwaza, making up the three members of the CCT tribunal.
He is the youngest person to ever hold the office of the chairman of the CCT.
By virtue of the provisions of Paragraph 17(1) of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) and barring any serious ill-health, misconduct or death, he is expected to remain the helmsman of the tribunal until he clocks the mandatory retirement age of 70 years.
Specifically, Justice Danladi is constitutionally billed to retire in 2041.
But on July 13, 2024, when he still has 17 more years on the bench, President Tinubu removed him from office through a press statement and named Dr Kogo as replacement.
Kogo, a seasoned lawyer and analyst in the fields of law, security, economy, politics, and international diplomacy, however, could not resume office after some lawyers faulted the process of removal of Justice Umar and the appointment of Dr Kogo as replacement for more reasons than one.
Lawyers fault FG’s sack of Justice Umar through press statement
Specifically, the lawyers, including a former Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Bayero University Kano, Prof Mamman Lawan Yusufari, SAN, an Abuja-based lawyer, Mr Ikoro N. Ikoro, among others, by their combined submissions, cited Paragraphs 15 (3), 17 (1),(3),(4) of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) for standing against Justice Umar’s removal.
Indeed, Paragraph 15(3) of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) provides that the Chairman and members of the Code of Conduct Tribunal shall be appointed by the President in accordance with the recommendation of the National Judicial Council while Paragraph 17(3) provides that they shall not be removed from their office except upon an address supported by two-thirds majority of each House of the National Assembly only for inability to discharge the functions of the office in question (whether arising from infirmity of the mind or body) or for misconduct or for contravention of this code
Similarly Paragraph 17(1) says the Chairman or member of the Code of Conduct Tribunal shall vacate his office when he attains the age of seventy (70) years while Paragraph 17(4) says the chairman or members of the tribunal shall not be removed from office before retiring age save in accordance with the provisions of the code of conduct for public officers.
The lawyers who cited the provisions said that though it is not in dispute that Dr Kogo may be qualified for appointment as chairman of CCT, yet, the record showed that he was not recommended by neither the Federal Judicial Service Commission nor the National Judicial Council to President Tinubu, a condition precedent, before his appointment was announced.
It was also their argument that though Justice Umar had had a running battle with the authorities in the past, yet, at no time was he indicted of misconduct nor was the two chambers of the National Assembly, by an address, supported by two-third majority, asked for his removal from office.
Besides, the lawyers said Justice Danladi is less than 70 years and therefore cannot be removed except according to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.
NASS moves in
Following hints, the Nigerian Senate, on November 20, 2024, moved against Yakubu Danladi Umar, removing him from office due to what it called unacceptable acts of misconduct.
The upper chamber of the National Assembly predicated its decision on Section 157 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended.
The removal was supported by two-thirds of the Senators, with 74 members signing and 10 present, totaling 84 Senators.
Again, lawyers rap senate
But soon after the senate sacked Justice Umar, lawyers again faulted the lawmakers for not following due process.
Specifically, three senior legal practitioners including the Executive Director of Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Prof Yemi Akinseye George, SAN and a Law scholar, Dr Wahab Shittu, SAN, dismissed as illegal and unconstitutional the sack of the Chairman of Code of Conduct Tribunal, Yakubu Danladi Umar.
The lawyers contended that the upper chamber of the National Assembly has no powers under the law to sack a judicial officer just as they expressed worry that a Senate peopled by senior and knowledgeable lawyers could go that route.
They advised the Attorney-General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN to call the attention of President Bola Tinubu to the anomaly, saying senate cant remove a judicial officer as it did in the case of the CCT chairman from office in a democracy.
According to Shittu, SAN, “while it will appear that the Senate acted within constitutional limit of 157(1) of the Constitution to the extent that the incumbent was removed for misconduct, it is important to stress that section 157 (1) of the 1999 Constitution relied upon by the Senate to sack the Code of Conduct Tribunal is inapplicable.
“He can not be sacked without the input of the House of Representatives and the President as contained in Section 17(3) of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution,” he added.
Similarly, Prof Akinseye George, SAN said “Section 157 (1) of the 1999 Constitution does not give powers to the Senate to remove the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
“For emphasis, Section 157 (1) provides that a person holding the offices to which this section applies may only be removed from that office by the President acting on an address supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate praying that he be so removed for inability to discharge the functions of the office (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or any other cause) or for misconduct.
“Under Section 157 (2), a list of the offices that the senate can exercise its powers under Section 157(1) include that of the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Federal Civil Service Commission, the Independent National Electoral Commission, the National Judicial Council, the Federal Judicial Service Commission, the Federal Character Commission, the Nigeria Police Council, the National Population Commission, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission and the Police Service Commission.
“The Code of Conduct Tribunal is missing on the list. And I know that while the Code of Conduct Bureau is an executive body, the Code of Conduct Tribunal is a judicial body.
“The senate cant remove the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal. For the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal to be removed, there must be compliance with the provision of section 17 of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution.
“Specifically, Section 17(3) of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution provides: “A person holding the office of Chairman or member of the Code of Conduct Tribunal shall not be removed from his office or appointment by the President except upon an address supported by two-thirds majority of each House of the National Assembly praying that he be so removed for inability to discharge the functions of the office in question (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body) or for misconduct or for contravention of this Code.
“We have to follow the constitution. This is democracy.
“You may not like the face of the person there but you will need to follow the process. Otherwise, we will all be endangered,” he added.
Senate reverses self
Although the senate which made the error was courageous enough to admit the mistake and reversed itself, the proper procedure was yet to be followed when President Tinubu government again announced Dr Kogo as the replacement for Justice Danladi Umar in January, 2025 and backdated the appointment to a date in November 2024.
NGOs, lawyer go to court
The current development in the case had galvanised two non-governmental organisations and a lawyer to approach the court to stop the government from going ahead with the appointment of Dr Kogo as new chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal when the substantive was yet to be properly removed from office.
The trio who said they were aggrieved by the government’s decision are contending that Justice Danladi, like any other judicial officer, cannot be sacked from office without following due process.
Specifically, the applicants are seeking an order of the court to bar the police, the Department of State Service, DSS and others taking instructions from Tinubu as Commander-In-Chief from inviting, intimidating, investigating or subjecting officials of the CCT including Justice Danladi Yakubu Umar to their operations, pending the hearing and determination of a motion on notice.
As events unfold in this case, keen watchers of democracy and happenings in the Code of Conduct Tribunal are patiently waiting to see how the matter would be eventually resolved.
